


A Little Contract

by TheEccentricNormad



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: ABDL, Adoption, Contracts, Diaper Usage, Enemies to Friends, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Foster Care, Hurt/Comfort, Mobians (Sonic the Hedgehog), Non-Sexual Age Play, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Orphans, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slight Cursing, Spanking, Teen in Diapers, There needs to be more ABDL stories with Sonic characters, Wetting, daddy eggman, messing, nothing graphic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29516883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEccentricNormad/pseuds/TheEccentricNormad
Summary: Eggman is finally giving up his dream of Eggman Land on one condition. Sonic must agree to come live with his ex-enemy for 6 months. Will Sonic be able to survive living with the doctor, can he figure a way out of this contract while still keeping the world safe, or will a newfound friendship blossom? WARNING: ABDL THEMES AND TEEN DIAPER USAGE.
Relationships: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik & Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 51
Kudos: 41





	1. Enter the Eggman

**Author's Note:**

> *Hello and welcome back, dear reader. I just returned from a refreshing Little's week and am rip and roaring and ready to start posting my newest story!
> 
> Though this story will feature Modern Sonic, I decided that our blue boy will display some hedgehog characteristics like his real-life counterpart to spice things up a little. I do think you will enjoy this story, lots of interaction between Eggman and Sonic and, of course, tons of babying fluff! I will warn you much of the fluff won't happen till later chapters, have to build the scene and set up the reasons for babying treatment, ya know? And there will also be a healthy dose of angst.
> 
> Also, I wanted to mention I've decided to change the update schedule; instead of uploading 3 times a week, I will upload twice a week (Wednesdays and Sundays) to help give me more time to write, edit, draw, and also to make you all suffer more (insert evil laughter here)!
> 
> You will be happy to know most chapters will be much longer cause of all of the ideas I have in mind for this story. I've made the chapters much longer, so it won't end up being 50+ of fluff. There's nothing wrong with that, but I want to be reasonable. Longer pages, fewer chapters so you'll lots more to read in one sitting this time.
> 
> Before I forget, I noticed while posting my last story on another site that some parts of my story were not posted properly, missing entire sequences, or were not posted at all. So I've gone back and hopefully fixed all of the mistakes and missing pieces. I don't know why every time I reread my story I end up finding huge mistakes like this?! Anyway, I suggest re-reading "Sonic's Small Discovery" before you start reading this one to make sure you guys get the full experience of that story I want to give you.
> 
> That should do it for announcements. Enjoy!*

"Come on, guys, last one in is a rotten Eggman!"

"Hey, that's not fair!"

"Sure it is if you're fast enough!" Tails snarks as he passes over the fuming Knuckles, "Yeah, for you two. I always end up as the rotten Eggman!"

"Yeah, and you smell like one too," Sonic yells back, pinching his nose. "I'm going to pound your face in after this!" Knuckles screams, shaking his spiky fists at the snickering fox and hedgehog running further into Eggman's base.

Teams Sonic, Rose, and Dark, were all in the midst of making their way into the center of Eggman's latest base with the collective goal to thwart another one of his grand schemes for world domination.

Team Dark (Shadow, Rouge, and Omega) we're entering the base using their various spy techniques, taking down security feeds and lock codes to allow easier access for the other teams while also searching for where the doctor was hiding inside the base. Shadow and Rouge were barely able to keep Omega in check for not blowing their cover so that he could quote 'destroy all of Eggman's inferior robots.'

Team Sonic (Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles) entered with their usual flash and flair, making as big of a commotion as possible, drawing the attention of all robots guarding the base and their master, dismantling the machines and anything else that looked suspicious as they checked each corridor and room for any sign of the doctor's whereabouts or his sinister plan.

Finally, Team Rose (Amy, Cream, and Cheese), we're following Team Sonic, providing backup if extra firepower was needed when the attacks became too much for only three individual Mobians to handle and scraping any bots that got away. They also served as an on-site medical aide when someone eventually got hurt.

Amy shook her head as she ran down the hall with her best friend and her pet Chao, hearing the echoes of the boy's laughter from their constant teasing bouncing back to them. "Those boys just can't seem to do one mission without screwing around with each other."

"At least they're having a good time. It makes things less scary." Amy huffed at her friend's comment, "Yeah, but I just wish Sonic would take it a little more seriously. Eggman's gotten more crafty, and I worry he'll end up hurt or worse, getting himself captured again." the rabbit looked at her friend in sympathy, remembering how broken the pink hedgehog was when they all thought Sonic had been killed after the incident with Infinite the Jackal.

Everyone had been devastated, and the world was plunged into a full-on war shortly after. Those had been the darkest 6 months of their lives. Thankfully, Rouge, who had been spying on Eggman gathering information for the resistance, found Sonic still alive and held prisoner on the DeathEgg. Once they got Sonic back, everything changed on a dime. The resistance got the upper hand and defeated Eggman's Empire within a few short weeks.

That had all happened just a year ago.

There was lots of rebuilding work still being done after the war. Eggman had, as usual, when a scheme of his crumbles to pieces, disappeared to plan out his next attack after the fall of his empire. While Infinite had been captured and placed into a maximum-security prison. Tails destroyed the phantom ruby and everything documenting its creation, so nothing like it would appear again. Having fulfilled his mission in helping to stop Eggman, Silver returned to his timeline, the future secured to a peaceful state.

Just a few days ago, Eggman had popped up on G.U.N.'s radar again, after a year of silence alerting them of his return. It took Team Dark and Sonic a couple of days to locate his newest base of operations. With no hit of what his current plan for world domination could be or whether it involved the chaos emeralds, but whatever it was needed to be nipped in the bud as quickly as possible. Thus why all three teams had come together to stop the mad doctor.

"Don't worry, Amy, " Cream said in her sugary sweet voice, "we're all here now to help Mister Sonic this time. He won't be fighting mean old Eggman alone like last time; all of his friends are here to make sure he stays safe."

"Chao Chao!" Cheese chirps in agreement; Amy smiles appreciatively at the rabbit, "You're right, Cream. I'll make sure this time my Sonic doesn't get captured again!" her face fills with determination as she focuses back on following the hedgehog of her dreams.

Back with Team Sonic, a certain blue hedgehog was taking the lead, jumping into a spin dash blasting through the circuits of an egg pawn, sending the machine into a smoldering heap along with the rest of its companions. Sonic flipped in the air, landing perfectly balanced, "Thank you a' thank you! You've been a wonderful audience. But I really must be off. Bases to blow up, Eggmen to scramble; you know how it is." he bowed, tipping an invisible hat with a cocky grin to the scrap of metal before turning on his heel and speeding off further into the hallways. Still no sign of Eggface. If I know the doc, he'll be where he usually is-

His trademark sneakers screeched against the floor, sliding to a stop in front of a massive doorway decorated with Eggman's usual horrid logo of his wickedly smiling face, an obvious trap hiding behind those doors. Years of experience battling Eggman had taught the hedgehog to be cautious when traveling through the doctor's bases. Booby traps and well-armed robots galore infested the hallways. Sonic had picked up a 6th sense, if you will, regarding these traps. Giving him the ability to avoid the pitfalls altogether or use them to his advantage.

Glancing behind him, Sonic looked into the distance. Tails, Knuckles, and Team Rose still were behind; Team Dark was probably sneaking around somewhere nearby if he had to guess. Pushing the cuff of his right glove up revealed a communicator, "Emerald eye, this is Blue Leader. Do you copy?"

"Emerald eye to Blue leader. What's up, big blue?" a seductive voice purred, "Ya got a whiff of Eggface hiding anywhere?"

"Nothing yet blue. Why? You think you found something?" Sonic's brow rose as he checked out the door in front of him, "Yeah, I think I might have found his hidey-hole."

"Really?~ What makes you say that?" Sonic shrugged his shoulders, "Just a feeling."

"Where are you?"

"Not sure..." he tapped his foot, impatience getting to him, "I think I'm close to the center...I'm going in."

"Sonic, wait! Don't go in alone. Wait for backu-" Sonic didn't hear the rest clicking off and covering the communicator again. He didn't want Tails or the rest of the gang to help him this time. He needed to do this alone. He had to prove to himself that he could still take Eggman down on his own and remind the doctor that he didn't take his 6 months of world domination lightly.

Letting the doctor capture and hold him in confinement for all those months was his bad. Sonic had gotten overconfident that the doctor couldn't lay a finger on him and that he would send the human packing after another humiliating defeat. He had spent much of his time in confinement thinking about what had gone wrong that day Infinite showed his ugly mug, helping Eggman take over the world while he was stuck in a cell all alone. Besides the few robots tasked with giving him his daily ration and check-ups. Yeah, that last part was weird.

Sonic shook the memories away; now was not the time for reflection. Now was the time for action!

Curling into a ball and revving up, Sonic homing attacked the door, letting himself into a pitch-black room. The light from the opening he had created showing only a portion of the floor, rising into a battle stance, ears and eyes perked on the alert for anything that indicated the doctor's presence. Sonic barely flinched at the loud slam behind him, a secret door sealing the previously broken doorway, leaving the hedgehog in complete darkness. "Welcome, Sonic!" a familiar voice cheerily greeted, "I was beginning to wonder if you would find me, though I guess you were pretty busy destroying my robots on your way here."

"Skip the welcome introductions, Egghead. I know this is a trap!" he smirked, "So why don't you shed some light on the subject and show me the latest piece of decor you've made for me to pummel into an...abstract work of art."

"Oh, yes. How rude of me!" seconds later, a few lights lit up in the distance revealing the egg-shaped man sitting on an extravagant-looking chair, along with an ornate desk. Next to him was a large control panel with several screens. Eggman pressed his hands together with an all-business attitude, "Now, I believe we have some matters to discuss."

This was very much not the way his usual battles with the doctor started. Sonic paled ever so slightly, feeling on edge, his stomach and fists clenching. He mutters a nervous, "Shit."


	2. Something Different

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Chapters 2 and 3 were inspired by an RP I had read on diaperedanime, I'm not into RPing myself, but I do enjoy reading others' RPs and getting ideas from them. The overall story is inspired by some Sonic and Eggman stories and other RPs I've read.
> 
> The RP that inspired this chapter is called: Sonic Unpredictable by SPARKLE123 and yoshiyos. I suggest you check it out as the story is quite good, even if it's one of the many that are, unfortunately, unfinished. :( *
> 
> Italicized text indicates a character's thoughts.

"Come have a seat." Eggman gestured to an extra chair stationed between himself and the ornate desk that matched his seat. Sonic stayed in his battle stance, warily taking in the odd scene.

Where were the robots? The evil laughter? The monologue of his latest scheme? The taunts and threats? Hell, why was Eggman acting like this was a business meeting with an important client?!

Relaxing his stance minutely, yet remaining on guard, Sonic crossed his arms, raising a brow, "What's the deal, Eggface? Finally figured out you couldn't handle getting your butt handed to you?" The doctor huffed, "Please refrain from your usual banter, hedgehog." he replied with a serious tone, "I don't want to fight you this time. I wish to discuss some matters regarding our future together."

"Our future together?" Sonic mumbles before green eyes lit up, sending the doctor a flirtatious smirk and batted his eyelashes, "Gee Eggman, I knew I was good looking, but I didn't know you had a thing for this?~" he proceeded to pose, flexing his skinny peach arms. "Not that kind of future, you insolent little-!" Eggman screamed, leaning back; he pinched the space between his glasses, muttering something about 'immature little rodents.'

Sonic chuckled, satisfied with his successful teasing at the doctor's choice words. "Sorry, I'm gonna have to turn you down. Nothing personal I'm just not looking for a relationship right now." he winked, placing a fist on his hip. "Hmph! Just sit down, hedgehog. I'm being quite serious."

"Ok, ok." Sonic put his hands up in surrender, rolling his eyes, "Calm down, Baldy McNosehair. You wanna talk, then let's talk." strolling into the light, he hopped up onto the human-sized chair and made himself comfortable. "So...what's on your mind?"

"Ahem, well. As you know, my last plan for world domination did not go very well." Sonic nodded, remembering very clearly what had happened, "The plan went so bad that an all-out war started while you were captured...I-I wish to apologize for my actions and the ramifications they had on you and your friends." emerald eyes blinked once, twice. Sonic dug a finger in his ear. _Did I hear that, right? Eggman apologizing? Is he serious?!_ He leaned forward, narrowing his gaze at the man, "What's the deal, Eggface? You never apologize, especially to me. What's your game this time?"

"No game, no secret plans, or anything of that sort, I swear to you!" Eggman waved his hands peacefully, "This is all on the square. I...realized that my plans have gone too far, and I want to fix all of the destruction and misery I've caused over the years."

"Look, that's all fine and dandy, but I've heard this sob story before; how can I believe your lying ass that you're really on the up and up? If you really wanted to show the world the err of your ways, why not hand yourself over to G.U.N.?"

"Because I do not believe that would be the most effective way for me to show that I've genuinely turned over a new leaf. How can I better myself and contribute to society locked in a maximum-security cell with no ability or resources to fix all that I've done? You know as well as I do how restrictive G.U.N. is and how ruthless they can be."

Sonic couldn't argue with the doctor about that. G.U.N. barely forgave Shadow for his almost successful attempt at destroying the world. Under the impression that Maria had wanted him to enact revenge for her death under the veil of his misguided grief. Thankfully he had remembered his real promise to her just in time and had stopped the Eclipse Cannon. Sometime after that, Shadow had also defeated the Black Arms and saved the world again. However, G.U.N. was still very paranoid that the Ultimate Lifeform would turn on them. It was only because he saved the world twice and the fact that he was employed under their organization, allowing them to secretly keep tabs on the hog, that they allowed him to go free.

If Eggman were in their custody, he would not have the little bit of freedom an average prisoner was allowed. He would never see the light of day again, and it was highly likely he would even be sentenced to death for his crimes.

Sonic was not a fan of the death sentence, especially if that person wholeheartedly wanted to change their ways. He believed that everyone deserves a second chance. But, this wasn't the first time Eggman claimed to have changed for the better. Sonic would not be so easily fooled this time.

The hedgehog sighed, glaring at the obese human. The doctor was hiding something, he could tell, but no matter, he would entertain the man a little longer. "Alright, I see your point. But I'm gonna need to see some real evidence that you are giving up your evil ways."

"Oh yes, of course!" Eggman exclaimed. Pulling a drawer open, he pulled out a small stack of papers and a pen while also flicking a switch hidden underneath the desk. The previously blank monitors blinked to life, showing something that made the hedgehog's jaw drop.

All of his friends were in a room tied up together, confined in two separate cages surrounded by a force field. Amy, Knuckles, Cream, Tails, and Cheese were in one, while Shadow and Rouge were in the other, all struggling against their bonds. Looking to the next monitor, he saw another side of the same room. Omega shut down and lying in the corner while in the center of one wall was a monitor showing Sonic's friends what was going on with him and Eggman.

Sonic couldn't believe his eyes. All of his friends had been captured, including the Ultimate Lifeform! How?! He had just left them 5 minutes ago, and they had demolished almost all of Eggman's robots! Yet, somehow Eggman had turned the tables on them, and now they were all effectively screwed unless he could quickly come up with a plan.

"What did you do, Eggman?!" Sonic roared, slamming his hand onto the desk, staring the human down, seething with anger. "Simple rodent. While you and your friends were busy destroying my lair looking for me, you never noticed the traps I had set up right under your noses. I knew you would separate from your team to confront me yourself, so after you left, I simply activated the traps and had your friends come together to hang out in my little hehe, waiting room until we were finished. Don't worry; they are perfectly safe."

A bead of sweat fell from Sonic's head, his conscious berating him for leaving his friends behind and falling for Eggman's trap. He scowled at the doctor, not wanting to give the scientist the satisfaction of seeing him weak. "What do you want?" he growled; Eggman gently pushed Sonic back into his seat, "Do you remember your time on the DeathEgg?"

"Yeaaaaah?"

"Well, I learned something...I'm sure you've wondered why I had one of my robots assigned to run various check-ups and tests on you during your stay." the hedgehog nodded, his foot shaking with nervous energy. _Hurry up and get to the point, fatface, so I can break my friends out and pulverize you._

"You are a unique and powerful hedgehog, Sonic." the doctor spoke as if he were a professor lecturing his class, "You have the ability to harness the Chaos emeralds and achieve feats no other ordinary human or Mobian could dream of doing on their own. I'm a curious man, a scientist. I had theories, but until you were in my clutches, I couldn't do much more than theorize. It was a golden opportunity, and I took it. Thus why I ran you under several tests." the evil scientist then, oddly enough, went quiet, a somber expression somehow emitting behind those hidden eyes.

"And from the results of one test, I realized something...I realized that all this time...all these years, I thought I was fighting a powerful individual who the leaders of this world had tasked to protect it from my attacks. That could not be further from the truth...I have been fighting, mercilessly attacking, and almost murdered countless times, a 15-year-old boy, a child."

"Yeah, so? Didn't you know that?" Eggman shook his head, "Sonic. I am a man who has spent decades watching this corrupt world and wanting to better it through my inventions. And years of rejection, negativity, and injustice have left me with a skewed sense of morals. I have committed many crimes to accomplish my goals, but I would never ever risk the life of a child, even if that was the only thing standing in my way."

Emerald eyes scanned the doctor's face for his usual telltale signs of lying, but for once, Sonic couldn't find any. Even the tone of his voice sounded sincere. _Either Eggman is getting really good at acting, or...he's telling the truth._ Folding his arms, Sonic quietly spoke, "So because I'm the one foiling your plans. Because...'I am standing in your way'. Does this mean you really and truly are giving up?"

"Maybe..." the doctor sighed, brows furrowed, revealing the few wrinkles he had, showing how hard he had thought about this over the last year. "Had I realized how old you really were when we first meet, I would never have attempted to take your life, and I can assure you I will never do so again. However, I will only give up my goal and release your friends in exchange for one thing." Eggman pushed the small stack of papers to the blue blur, "This is a contract I've had written up. It stipulates that I will give up my quest for world domination...if you come to live with me."

All of the hostage's attempts to struggle against their restraints in the waiting room vanished as ears and eyes flew up to the monitor, hearing Eggman say those last few words; Sonic's reaction identical to that of his friends, "WHAT?! You-you can't be serious!"

"As serious as a heart attack. When I found out how old you really were, I realized I had made a grave mistake. For 7 years, you have been locked into battle after battle with me. Forced into dangerous situations and to make decisions, no child should have to do. I unknowingly and ruthlessly took your childhood from you and your friends, and I want to fix that. By having you move in with me."

Sonic couldn't believe what he was hearing come out of the human's mouth. "You want me to come live with you?" He slowly repeated dumbly. Eggman nodded, tapping the papers, "Yes. It's all right there in the contract." Sonic picked up the small stack, quickly scanning it over. He didn't understand much of the legal jargon, but he got enough out of it to know that this was the real deal; Eggman was telling the truth! Sonic shook his head, "Hold on, let me see if I got this right. What your saying is...you'll give up being an evil villain and let my friends go if I...agree to-," he gulped, "to stay with you?"

"Correct."

Sonic flipped through the pages again and looked back up at the monitor, "Bring me Tails and Shadow. I want to hear what they think before I even think about agreeing."

"Of course, of course." Eggman consented, lifting his arm and tapped onto some weird-looking watch on his wrist, "Release the fox and black hedgehog. Then escort them to the meeting room."

While they waited, Sonic mulled over the doctor's words. Finally, after all these years, the human was giving up his world domination conquest and doing so willingly! Provided Sonic agreed to...basically surrender himself to the man. But why him? Why now? Why didn't Eggman just keep him while he was stuck up in space? Why did he want the hedgehog in the first place? Torture? Experimentation? He had just said how he was curious about what made Sonic tick. And he had noticed something odd in the contract. It had mentioned that Sonic would only stay with the doctor until he was a legal adult. Did Eggman want to adopt him? Because he felt bad for fighting Sonic, who was still basically considered a child? He could take care of himself and had done so for years even before meeting the evil scientist heck; he and Tails were raising themselves just fine without any adult supervision!

Sonic had been in such deep thought he didn't notice Shadow and Tails arrive until two other seats rolled up on each side of him. "Sonic?" Tails whispers, "What's going on?" Shadow, for once, instead of glaring at everyone and everything, looked just as confused as his little brother.

"I think..." Sonic stuttered, "I think Eggman wants to adopt me."

* * *

"I think Eggman wants to adopt me," Sonic quietly replied; Tails and Shadow were dead silent, mouths agape at the shocking news.

They had heard part of Sonic and Eggman's conversation when they were held up in the waiting room, skeptical of the human's announcement that he wanted to retire from the evil villain business. And now this new piece of information left their brains scrambled after so much had happened in the last half hour.

One minute they were all on the verge of finding the doctor and defeating him for the last time; the next, they had all been ambushed. Caught off guard by hoses popping up from the ceiling and floor, being gassed and passing out one by one. When they had woken up, they found themselves tied up in cages surrounded by a force field to ensure they couldn't escape. Even Omega had been taken down! The loyal and gun-happy robot left to sit in the corner like a rag doll.

"What? Why?!" Tails exclaimed; Sonic just shrugged with a blank expression handing his little brother the contract to read it over. The fox thoughtfully read over the document, "Wait a minute." Shadow pulled his hand up, "Why, Sonic? Why not Tails, myself, or anyone else?"

"Because we have a history together," Eggman stated matter of factly, "Even though I've had encounters with you, the fox, and the others. Some for a similar period of time. The majority of you have stayed in the background, with Sonic taking most of the heat of our battles. Therefore I've affected his life to a greater extent, which warrants my responsibility to atone for my actions on his life."

"But why now?" Sonic interjected, "You figured this out when I was already stuck with you on the DeathEgg, right? Why did you let me escape then?"

"Honestly, with the war going on, I was overwhelmed with the news of this information. I needed some time to think about it and whether I would allow it to influence my course of actions in the future."

Shadow, having slightly come down from his shock, crossed his arms, "And what are those actions now?" he questioned. "My plan is for Sonic to come live with me. To provide a stable home environment for him. It will be my way of apologizing personally a...community service if you will. And as proof to show I have abandoned my previous goal of world domination."

"How do we know you won't just try to experiment and torture him?"

"Because G.U.N. will oversee the whole process." Sonic and Shadow raised eyebrows at that statement, "He's right." Tails piped up. Having been listening to the conversation while he had been reading the documents, "It says right here that you and Rouge will run weekly checkups on him and Eggman so he can provide evidence that nothing...fishy is going on."

"Right. If you look at this paragraph-" Eggman leaned over the desk pointing to a specific section, "it states that Shadow and Rouge on G.U.N.'s behalf will come by every week and conduct private interviews with us and also that Sonic will be allowed to leave the base once a week to visit friends, family, etc. to prove further that besides living with me and stipulating to house rules he is free to do as he pleases. Oh! And also after 6 months, Sonic is free to break the contract before he reaches legal adult age, no questions asked."

Sonic gave his brother a look, which he returned with a nod in affirmation, "I can't find anything in this besides having to live with Eggman for at least 6 months that would adversely hurt you. Eggman is the one taking the loss." Sonic thoughtfully rubbed his chin, "So if I agree, you'll let my friends go?"

"Yes."

"And if I decide to skip town after 6 months, you won't go back to trying to take over the world again?"

"I swear it." the doctor promised, placing a hand over his heart. "What if I don't agree?" Eggman deflated in his chair, "I will be forced to hold you all hostage and will continue to work to fulfill my goal while trying not to get you or your friends involved. Though as much as it pains me, there is no guarantee you won't be affected somehow."

 _So I'm pretty much stuck between a rock and a hard place then—S_ onic muses. _If I don't accept, I'll be risking all our lives as Egghead's hostages until we either figure out a way to break out or are rescued. If I do accept...everyone goes free, and only I will have to spend a few months with the Eggface, and the world is as good as safe! Still, there is a strong possibility that this could all backfire on me, but Rouge and Shadow will be keeping tabs on me, and if they think something is wrong, G.U.N. will be on Eggman's ass in a second. And if I suspect something fishy is going on, I can always go to Tails on my day out to let him know what's up and have the gang come to my rescue. Plus, Eggman said I only have to follow a few house rules; besides that, I still pretty much have my freedom, and he's not locking me up for life. Maybe this won't be so bad?_

Nodding once, Sonic declared, "I accept!"

"What?!" Shadow and Tails shrieked, "Why on Mobius would you accept? This is Doctor Robotnick we're talking about! This man has claimed to quit villainy countless times; how can you accept his claim and this contract?!" Shadow snapped, floored that the hero of Mobius and lover of freedom would confine himself to such questionable terms. Sonic placed a gloved hand on his rival's shoulder, "Because I don't want to risk all of our lives Shadow. I'm willing to bunk with the Eggman if it means my friends and the world will stay safe. Besides, everyone deserves a second chance...even Eggman."

"But-you-doah-just-how could-gah!" the ebony hog stuttered in dismay flailing his arms before settling back to stewing in the chair. There was nothing he could say now that his rival had made his decision; Sonic was as stubborn as he was, meaning there was no talking out of sacrificing himself for their and the world's sake. "Alright. But if anything happens, it's on your head."

"Noted."

"As for you..." Shadow glared daggers at the doctor, speaking coldly, "I will be keeping an eye on you." Eggman sweatdropped, tugging his jacket collar, "Yes, well, ahem. I-I would think it right for you to do so. Now..." he pushed the pen towards the blue hedgehog signaling him to sign the contract.

Sonic picked up the pen and took back the papers from his brother, flipping to the page where he needed to sign—staring at the dotted line.

Tails watches Sonic's eyes lock onto the contract, a flicker of fear passing through them. "You sure you wanna do this, Sonic?" Tails worriedly asks. Sonic snaps out of his reluctance, quickly re-adjusting his cool and collected facade, "If I wanna give the world a chance to have peace from Eggman...then yeah." he sighed before giving the fox a reassuring smirk, "Don't worry, Tails, it'll only be for a few months after that I can come home." looking back at the document Sonic signed his fate.

x Olgilive Maurice (Sonic) the Hedgehog

"Excellent!" Eggman smiles; a menagerie of clicks and beeps go off after Sonic writes down the last letter. On the screen, Sonic sees the rest of his friends are untied and released with a doorway opening to the outside world. A world he wouldn't be able to run out in again for at least a week, it had only been a few seconds since he accepted Eggman's offer, but already Sonic was starting to have second thoughts about this contract. _Maybe I should have thought about this a little more?_

A loud clap startled the hedgehog out of his thoughts, "Well, Tails, Shadow. Thank you so much for your assistance, but now I must ask you and the rest of your friends to leave. Sonic and I will be on our way home now. But don't worry, you'll see him again in about a week!"

 _Right._ Sonic gulped, rubbing the back of his head. _My new place for the next six months._

"Oh! Before I forget. Is there anything you need from your previous home? Any personal items that need to be picked up?" Eggman inquired his ex-enemy, "Ah-no no. I've got everything I need right here," he said, feeling for the chaos emerald and house keys he kept in his quills. "Perfect! And Sonic, would you please give Shadow your chaos emerald. You won't need it where we're going." Sonic slumped, begrudgingly handing the gem to his rival. How did the doctor know he had one? "Of course."

Tails jumped from his seat, gazing at the exit door opening behind them and back to his brother. His twin tails twisted in a knot, worried about what would happen to the hedgehog while they were separated. He didn't trust Eggman one bit, but he trusted Sonic and his decisions. He always put others well being before his own. If Sonic thought this was for the best, Tails would do all he could to support him until he thought of a way to get his brother out of this mess.

"Sonic." he whimpered, scuffing his shoe against the floor; the speedster jumping down from his seat looked at his fox brother. "Yeah, Tails?" the young fox held up his arms, wanting a hug. Softly smiling, Sonic pulled his little brother close, kissing the top of his head, "Hey, everything is gonna be ok. I promise." he whispers comfortingly. Squeezing tighter, Tails mutters, "You better. I don't think I can stop Amy from destroying the house by myself if she decides you've been gone for too long." Sonic chuckles at the poor attempt of a joke, giving his brother one final squeeze before pulling away, ruffling the fox's bangs, "Aw, you can take her Tails. I believe in ya!"

Turning to his rival with a sad smile Sonic offered him a handshake. The black hog accepted, firmly grasping and shaking it, "See ya round, Shads. Send everyone my thanks and goodbyes?" Shadow rolled his eyes in irritation but smirked, "Will do. See you later, Sonic." sighing, the blue hedgehog pulled himself together, gazing up at the rotund man waiting for him. "Oh, don't act like you'll never see them again, Sonic. You can visit all your friends this time next week!"

 _Yeah, but it will feel like an eternity in Hell until then._ Nodding, Sonic walked up to Eggman with his head held high, and chest pushed out. He wasn't going to show his little brother or rival how nervous he was on the inside.

Waving sadly, Shadow and Tails excited the room, Sonic waving in return with a fake smile before the door slammed shut.


	3. Roomies

building's sight. The base was massive! It had to be the biggest of all of Eggman's bases Sonic had ever seen, roughly the size of 3 football fields, not counting the outside perimeter. The metal building towered over the manicured landscape and glistened in the sunlight, shaped like a giant square with a hole in the middle.

A square metallic donut came to Sonic's mind.

As they drew closer, the blue devil could make out parts of a garden in the center. The grass freshly cut and shining with dew, bushes, and trees healthy and planted aesthetically. He could even see a fountain bubbling in the center of it all. Who knew the doctor had an eye for mother nature?

Eggman smiled with pride at the hedgehog's reaction, "This is my secret home. It's where I go to relax and come up with ideas for my latest inventions." he boasted, "You'll have plenty of space to run around in if you get to feeling too cooped up."

As he admired the view, a thought suddenly occurred to Sonic, one that he really hadn't thought of before, pulling him out of his awe. "How can you afford all of this? As many of your bases and bots that I've trashed over the years, I'd think you would've run out of funds ages ago." Jostling the handle and pressing a button opening a door into the base, Eggman steered the vehicle into the garage for a landing. "I have several accounts in stocks all under a different name, mind you, that helps fund most of my creations, but I don't just make destructive robots, you know. I also build machines that help people."

Sonic raised an eyebrow to that in surprise, "Really?" he asked skeptically, "Yes! For instance, I've made several inventions to help hospitals and first responders. You remember my old robotisizer?"

"How could I forget that thing!"

Eggman chuckled, "Well, that was originally made to help people in need of prosthetics. It would replace the original limb, but the artificial replacement would function just like a real arm or leg with synthetic nerve endings and the ability to touch and feel." Emerald eyes widen in disbelief, "That was what the robotisizer was for?!"

"Yup!" Eggman nodded, powering down the vehicle and stepping out. _Well, that's an interesting bit of information._ Sonic thought before shaking away his shock and hopped out of the eggmobile to see Orbot and Cubot hovering by the door leading into the rest of the base. "Good afternoon, Doctor! I assume everything went according to plan since our newest addition has accompanied you?" Orbot chirped. "Heya Sonic, great to have you join the team!" Cubot waved; Sonic, with an awkward smile, waved in return. "Yes, everything has gone swimmingly! Now, if you will excuse us, I have much to do to welcome Sonic to his new home." Eggman responded, waving for the hedgehog to follow him.

Sonic followed the large man keeping his senses on high alert; he was deep in the enemy's territory now and didn't trust Eggman one bit. Despite the doctor's claims to change for the better and acting hospitable and polite instead of temperamental and screaming. This didn't prove that the doctor couldn't turn off the act and go back to wanting to murder the hedgehog at his first opportunity. And it also didn't mean Sonic had to be on his best behavior either.

An idea formed in the blue blur's mind as they walk down the hallways. _Maybe if I cause enough trouble, Eggman will kick me out and still keep his end of the bargain! Just because I have to stay here with Eggface doesn't mean I have to be nice to him...though maybe I shouldn't push my luck too much don't want to give the guy a reason to do me in or to go back on his word. Just be irritating enough that he thinks I'm more trouble than I'm worth._ He stifles a snicker thinking of all the trouble and misery he could cause the human.

* * *

"After you," Eggman says, opening a door gesturing for the hedgehog to go inside, blinking back to reality, Sonic walks into the room.

It was another office, the furniture a similar style to the one in the base they had just left, but this room was lit up by warm light, actually letting him see the rest of the inside instead of overbearing darkness. One wall was covered with an assortment of books and decorative knick-knacks, the floors and furniture made out of dark wood with an unlit fireplace on the opposite wall.

Sonic leaps onto a plush leather chair, careful not to let his quills poke any holes. Eggman takes his seat at the desk, "Now before I give you the grand tour, there are a few house rules we need to go over." an ear flicks, and green eyes roll very much like the annoyed teenager Sonic was.

"Rule 1. You will not destroy the base or any of my robots here. You are to consider this base as your home now, so treat it as such. The service robots are no threat to you, so there's no need to attack them, including Metal Sonic. I made some adjustments to his programming. He will not attempt to hurt you, but I do expect you two to treat each other with respect, so no funny business."

Sonic gave the rule a brief thought and nodded, knowing he wouldn't have to worry about his robotic copy attempting to end his life was a relief, so that rule seemed like a reasonable request.

"Rule 2. I will not stand for any sort of foul language, I realize you have been on your own for quite some time now and will make slip-ups, but I will still correct and punish you as needed when you disobey. Rule 3-"

"Woah Woah, Woah, wait! Punishments?! I thought you said you wouldn't hurt me?!"

"And I won't. However, you are still a minor, and under my roof, any disobedience or blatant disregard to the rules will be swiftly corrected with non-torturous punishment methods—anyway, rule 3. You will be required to wear this at all times." pulling something round out of his jacket pocket, the human quickly clamped something around the hedgehog's neck. Startled at the sudden action, Sonic clasped the thing now attached to his neck. His pupils shrunk, and his eyebrows went as far up as his ears. Eggman had put a collar on him...like a pet. Growling, he pulled at the device, "What the Hell?!"

Bzzzzzt!

"Aggghh!" he cried, feeling an electrical pulse run through his body before it stopped. "Don't even try to take it off." Eggman commanded, "Only I have the code to unlock it. So unless you want to get fried to a crisp, I suggest you leave it be." Sonic glared at the doctor, growling, "You son of a bi-AAAaaaah!" he yelled, another shock coursing through his muscles.

The shock didn't last more than a few seconds, but Chaos did it hurt. He panted through the pain glaring at the human through one eye. His left shoulder muscle was still twitching in reaction to the electrical pulse. "I...I'm guessing that's...one of my...punishments? So what? I'm gonna be your little-pet for the next 6 months?" Sonic spat, struggling not to continue clawing at the collar. "This is just something to help keep you in line, hedgehog. Can't have you destroying this base like you've done all my others."

"Aww, where's the fun in that?" Sonic sarcastically whined after he was somewhat recovered. "Don't be so dramatic, Sonic; I promise it won't be that bad," Eggman spoke tonelessly, standing up concluding his the breakdown of house rules. "Come, I'll give you a tour."

Sonic continued to stare angrily at the human before puffing out a breath of air in frustration. Carefully he stood up on the chair and leaped over the back, flipping a few times, and lands before the doctor tossing his blue quills back dramatically with a confident smirk. Sending a clear message that the doctor's rules weren't going to keep him down.

Eggman rolls his eyes at the blue devil, walking out the door.

* * *

As massive as the base was on the outside, Sonic would have sworn to the master emerald the building was even bigger on the inside! He was grateful to Eggman for giving him a tour of the place; a few times when Sonic turned around to get a better look at something, he instantly got lost. If it weren't for the doctor's slow, steady pace and bright red jacket, he would have never found his way back.

The base comprised of 3 floors. The basement was a dedicated laboratory where the doctor conducted research and built his creations. The first floor served as a warehouse, holding supplies and tools to help repair and maintain the base. The final floor was split between the living and recreational quarters; one side had the kitchen, offices, dining, bed, and bathrooms. While the other had an arcade, gym complete with running track and swimming pool, the garden, movie theatre, library, and lounging area.

Eggman explained that Sonic's collar held many capabilities. It served as a tracker, keycard, shocker and recorded the hedgehog's vitals. Stepping into an elevator, Eggman pressed the button for the basement, "While you will have access to most areas, the lab and warehouse will be off-limits unless I grant you entry. There is no reason for you to be in those areas. Also, if you step outside the base's fence perimeter on a day I do not have scheduled, it will insert a paralyzing toxin to keep you from running away."

"Why all the precautions, Eggbreath? Don't you trust me?" Sonic scoffed, his irritation and slight headache rising at all the increasing list of restrictions and nose scrunching up at the scent of sterile bleach in the air. The elevator chimed as the doors opened. "You are a crafty little creature, " Eggman continued flatly, strolling down the metal hallways. "I would not be surprised if you were forming some means of escape while still having me keep my word as we speak. Although we have come to a...somewhat peaceful truce. It is a shaky one. One that I'm not willing to let you risk breaking." pushing a door open, the human stepped inside a brightly lit room with Sonic right behind him.

"Now..." Eggman's voice and face brightened up, patting the thin paper lining a bed, "Hop on up here so I can do a quick checkup."

Sonic froze, paling at the sight in front of him, realizing he had just walked into the doctor's private examination room. It looked exactly like one in a regular hospital, the tall bed with paper sheets, weight scale, various medical implements hanging on the wall with posters about human and mobian physiology, and cabinets filled with other doctor's tools. Unlike the rest of the base that smelled of a weird mixture of oil and grass, this room reeked of medicine and disinfectant.

Sonic could barely remember the last time he was in a doctor's office. All he faintly remembered from his last visit as a hoglet was crying, pain, and terror. After that experience and his interactions with Dr. Eggman, he had sworn off all doctors medical or the other kind. He took a step back, stomach twisting in horror at where he found himself.

"Well, come on, Sonic!" the doctor tapped the bed again, "It's just a little check-up. You're not afraid, are you?"

"No, I'm not!" Sonic barked defiantly. Yet the ears that laid flat against his head and tail between his legs said otherwise. Eggman sneered at the obviously nervous hedgehog, "Prove it." he goated. Sniffing in disdain, Sonic kept his glare fixed firmly on the ceiling but made no attempts to move. That was until he felt a pair of hands grab his midsection, "Eep!" he squirmed at the foreign hands lifting him onto the bed, the paper making an annoying crackling noise as he moved.

After placing his patient on the bed, Eggman turned to the cabinets pulling out the tools he would need for the hedgehog's examination. He wasn't just a doctor of robotics! Like his late grandfather, Eggman had also studied in the other realms of science, including; genetics, anatomy, biology, and medicine, just to name a few.

Returning to his uneasy patient, Eggman put the earbuds of the stethoscope in place, "Now just relax and breath." Sonic bared his teeth at the round man quills bristling; no way was he going to let Eggman study him like one of his science experiments. The doctor stepped back, startled by the hostile and feral reaction. Frowning, he calmly reprimanded the hedgehog for his behavior, "Don't make this any harder than it has to be pine cone. Just sit still and cooperate."

Sonic took in a steady breath and reminded himself to breathe so his voice wouldn't shake, giving away his terror as he asked, "You won't give me any shots?" Eggman faltered at the question, rethinking how he would proceed; he had planned on extracting some blood. Still, his patient's reaction to just the stethoscope suggested he stick to the basics and leave anything even slightly invasive for another time. The poor hedgehog seemed nervous enough as it was; the human could almost see Sonic's peach arms shaking as he gripped the bed paper like a lifeline. "No shots. I promise." Eggman swore.

After closely scanning the doctor over, seeing that he was telling the truth, Sonic relented. Slowly relaxing his quills and sitting up straight to allow the doctor to listen to his heart, but he remained tense. Smiling in thanks, Eggman again slowly approached to listen to the organ beating behind a peach furry chest, "Strong and fast, just as I expected." he hummed with approval.

The examination was carried on in relative silence beside the small growls and hisses; Sonic would warn him every few minutes. Besides, that everything went smoothly and quickly.

"One last thing and we're done," Eggman announced, pulling a thermometer out of his pocket, reaching to place it in the hedgehog's ear. Again Sonic folded his ears flat against his skull, stubbornly being uncooperative. The blue blur truly was a doctor's or vet's worse nightmare. "Alright, we'll try it another way." the human patiently proposed placing the handheld machine aside; he grabbed an old-fashioned thermometer from the counter, "Now open wide..." again, Sonic refused, snapping at the hand then clamping his mouth firmly shut. "Come now, Sonic, we can either do this the easy way...or the hard way." the doctor smiled deviously.

Sonic turned away from the doctor, lying flat on his stomach and resting his head in his folded arms, refusing to move like a stubborn little kid and unknowingly put himself in a compromising position. Having had enough of being poked and prodded like a frog in middle school science class.

The doctor tsked, walking away, "Have it your way, then~." he sing songs. Sonic quirks his brow at the doctor's odd tone but ignores it, closing his eyes; he smirks, thinking he had worn Eggman down enough to leave him alone for the moment.

A faint click from behind alerts the blue blur that something was off. Sonic attempts to get up but finds his legs stuck where they were as some restraints were preventing him from moving. His gut soured, and his heart began to race as he felt someone grab his tail, pulling him up into a downward dog position. Panicking, Sonic gripped the edges of the bed futility, trying to keep his back end from rising anymore. Awkwardly twisting his spiky head, emerald eyes widened in horror, and a blush quickly fills his face when he sees Eggman firmly grasping his tail in one hand and a funny-looking thermometer in the other. You didn't have to get to medical school to figure out where that thing was going to go.

"No, no. Don't you even dare..." he shuttered, "I'm sorry, Sonic, but you asked for this."

"You stick that thing up my butt, and I will not hesitate to claw your eyes out and make your life a living-!"

"Do you really want to finish that sentence, Sonic?" Eggman threatened, inching the thermometer closer to its target; the hedgehog sweatdropped, unable to wriggle away from this...humiliating position without ending up with an injured tail as tightly as the doctor was holding the appendage keeping him from guarding where the light didn't shine.

"No, please don't." he whimpered on the verge of begging. "I'm sorry, Sonic. I gave you a chance to cooperate, but you've forced my hand. Now hold still." Sonic quickly turned away, squeezing his eyes shut and white-knuckling the bed, bracing himself. Eggman pinched his tail, making him yell.

"Aaaahhhhh! ... Huh?" Sonic's scream slowly died in the air, confused as to why he didn't feel anything...go in?

BEEP!

"96.5 degrees. Perfect!" opening his eyes, Sonic saw a forehead thermometer hovering in front of his head, "Huh?"

Eggman quietly snickers at the bewildered hedgehog for falling for his little trick, casually walking to a switch to release the bonds as if nothing had ever happened. "Yup, a perfectly healthy little hedgehog!"

Sonic curls up immediately after being released, flushing in humiliation and pouting at the obese human for his making him look like a fool. Eggman acted like he didn't notice the hedgehog's glare checking his watch and exclaiming innocently, "Woah! Would you look at that? It's almost time for dinner!" Writing the last of his notes down and sanitizing his hands, the doctor ruffled Sonic's head, who grumbled at the affectionate gesture sitting up and patting his quills back in place. Jumping off the bed, Sonic leads the way out back to the elevator thoroughly, hoping he never had to see that room again.

* * *

The dining room was simple yet elegant like the rest of the base. Sonic took what he assumed was his place at the table next to Eggman. The doctor snapped his fingers, signaling Metal Sonic to appear from the kitchen double doors. The shiny blue robot was clad in a frilly apron that said 'Kiss the cook or die' surrounded with little pink hearts. Sonic internally cringed, easily imagining Amy wearing the apron, forcing Sonic to consume something she had cooked up for a "date."

Metal stiffly strode up to the table, setting each plate in front of their respective diners. Eggman lifted the lid, letting the steam escape and revealing a freshly boiled lobster surrounded by an assortment of condiments and veggies, "Wonderful Metal! Thank you." the robot beeped in acknowledgment, red happy eyes appearing on his optical screen then switching to mad eyes glaring at his organic counterpart. It seemed the good doctor had forgotten to delete the robot's distaste for his counterpart. Sonic ignored the angsty robot lifting the lid and revealing his meal. Please be chili dogs; please be chili dogs! He prayed, crossing his fingers, but his hopes dashed to pieces seeing a very healthy salad with dressing on the side; he slammed the cover back on the plate.

Eggman, just about to take a bite of his lobster, notices the disgruntled hedgie push his meal away. "What's wrong this time?" He questioned, groaning internally, thinking the blue blur was quite possibly a picky eater.

"I don't eat salad. Can't I get some chili dogs instead? Or nachos, or a burger or something?"

"You have too much fast food in your diet. I've selected a range of healthy, nutritious meals and snacks a growing hedgehog like yourself needs. Chili dogs and other greasy fast food items will not be served here during your stay, but you are free to indulge in such things when you are out." Eggman calmly reasoned.

"Are you kidding me?! Do you know how much food I can pack away? There's a reason why I eat that greasy fast food stuff. 1. it tastes much better than this rabbit food. 2. it's cheap. 3. It's the only thing that remotely fills me up. So unless you want a huge grocery bill, though I think you already have one as much as you eat, " Sonic coughed the last part behind his gloved fist, "I suggest you have your 'chef' here make me some chili dogs."

A bushy mustache twitched, "Hmph! I don't mind paying a little more for food if you need it, Sonic. Because I'm not changing my mind. So unless you want to go to bed hungry-" Eggman pointed to the covered dish, "I suggest you eat that so-called rabbit food. If your still hungry, I can have Metal make you some more." Sonic was extremely annoyed by this order, tempted to throw his meal at the doctor for forcing this change of his eating habits, but he was starving. Maybe I can eat him out of house and home, so he doesn't have enough money to make any more stupid destructive robots? Though as nice as that sounded, he knew it was a crazy thought.

Sighing, Sonic begrudgingly lifted the lid off his plate, angrily stabbing the pile of lettuce with a fork, and shoved it into his mouth. Chewing and swallowing as fast as he could, not even bothering with the dressing. _It won't make much difference anyway._ He continued taking another bite.

Eggman grimaced at Sonic's lack of table manners but decided to let it go for now since he had had to convince the hedgehog to eat his greens. He needed to pick his battles if he was to win the war. The table manners could wait until another time. This may be a bit more of a struggle than I anticipated. He internally lamented, dipping a portion of lobster in melted butter.

"So..." Sonic spoke through a mouth full of lettuce, "what's for dessert?"


	4. The First Week

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Although some have you already guessed it, parts of this story were inspired and influenced by Shaunatheboss's "Saved by My Rival" it is seriously a good story, and their writing is fantastic! They recently finished writing the prequel and are now working on a re-write and a sequel, so I recommend you read "Saved by My Rival" now even though it's rated M. There's a bit of violence at the end, and descriptions of injuries are a bit graphic, but that's it.*

The whole day had been quite long and stressful for our blue hero, and it was beginning to take its toll. After 4 servings of plain bitter salad, Sonic finally had his fill and was ready to call it a night.

He stifled a yawn, shuffling beside Eggman to the base's living quarters, wondering which of the many bedrooms was his. Daydreaming of a nice soft bed, Sonic didn't notice Eggman had stopped some distance behind him, "And where do you think you're going?" the human coughed.

Sonic paused midstep, tilting his head back, blinking from his daze. Oh, that must be where my room is. He concluded, zipping back to the human and entered the room.

Only to twirl around, confused as to why Eggman had led him to a bathroom, "Uh, gee Eggman this is a great looking bedroom!" he said sarcastically. "This is not your room," Eggman grunted, slamming the door shut behind him locking it. Sonic's ears twitched, worry bubbling up inside as he stared at the now locked door. He chuckled nervously, "Then why did you bring me here?"

"Because you reek Sonic, and I like to keep everything in my base spotless."

"Hey! I don't stink!"

"Oh, really? So you're telling me that after a day of running through one of my bases and destroying my robots, covering yourself in dirt and oil that you don't smell like a used sweaty sock covered in motor oil? When was the last time you even showered?" Sonic pressed his lips firmly in a pout, deciding he wasn't going to answer that last question. Instead, he discreetly took a whiff of himself and recoiled at the smell; he really did stink. "Alright, I guess your right." he consented, pulling off his limited amount of clothing.

Opening the shower door, he glanced back and raised a brow at Eggman. Surprised he was still in the room with him, a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. Though male mobians typically didn't wear a lot of clothing, still standing around gloveless and shoeless in front of his ex-enemy made Sonic feel self-conscious and vulnerable. "Uh, you can leave now. I got this."

"Nonsense Sonic-" the doctor chirped, removing his jacket and rolling up the black sleeves of his shirt, "as your new temporary guardian, it's my responsibility to not only keep you healthy but clean as well. And I realize effectively cleaning those quills of yours can be a challenge alone. Another set of hands will make the job easier."

"What?! I don't need your help! Get out! I can do this mys-"

Bzzzzzt!

"Agh!" Sonic gritted his teeth, emerald eyes burning with tears. When the shock passed, his bashfulness was cast far aside; he gave the doctor a look that would have sent the man to an early grave. That was the last straw! He had been forced to come here, leave his friends behind, endure a humiliating examination, been refused chili dogs, and now Eggman had the gall to push him in here, call him smelly, and wash him as an owner does; his collared pet!

The blue blur bristled his quills, claws drawn out and, hissed at the doctor to back away unless he wanted a quill in the face, but the large man was undeterred by the warning from the tiny hedgehog. Holding his position, Eggman shocked Sonic again. And again, and again. Each time for the blue blur's attempts of resistance.

By the end of the 6th shock, the ends of Sonic's quills were smoking, and the blue devil looked like a wilted flower, having to keep his hands planted firmly on the shower wall to stay upright. His legs were threatening to give way, weak from the electrical pulses. Eggman sighed in disappointment, watching his ex-enemy bullheadedly refuse the help he so obviously needed, "Must you be so stubborn about one simple shower?"

"Y-y-you know...how m-much I...HATE...w-w-water." Sonic twitched, "And that's why I'm giving you a shower, not a bath. But if you continue to fight me, it will be."

Sonic squeezed his eyes, trying to put everything back in focus. He would have killed to be anywhere but here at this moment; even having Shadow beat him in a race would have been better than this. He was scared. If his legs hadn't been shaking from the shocks, they would have been shaking in fear. Besides Eggman, water was his number 1 enemy, especially water outside his control. But if he fought the doctor anymore, he would be incapacitated and entirely at the doctor's mercy. And it only takes a few inches of water to drown.

Sonic hated not being able to stop the quiver in his voice as he weakly yielded, "Fine."

Having finally gotten the hedgehog's permission, Eggman proceeded. Turning on the water to an adequate temperature, he pulls the shower head down and soaks cobalt fur, turning it into a navy blue. The hero of Mobius can do nothing but whimper pitifully, keeping a wide stance and hands on the walls to stay steady. His tail tucks under him as far as it can go, with ears flat and head down, feeling the water hit him.

Once he was wetted down, Eggman squirted a dollop of shampoo into his hands and began scrubbing quills and fur. Sonic silently gasped as large hands rubbed his body; he shivered and bit his lip to keep from smiling at the scratches that felt oh so good on his back. The floor seeming to be fascinating as a blush deepened on his cheeks. "Ah-ahah! H-hey! S-stop tha-that!" he giggled, squirming against the hands that tickled his belly. "Hold on; you've got a clump of oil right there. I'm trying to get out." Sonic wiggled like a worm trying not to break out in a fit of giggles as Eggman continued to scrub the sensitive spot.

His squirming abruptly stopped when those same hands moved from there to his lower regions. He sharply gasped and flushed at the touch, not moving a muscle. Catching the sudden lack of movement, Eggman paused, "I'm not hurting you am I?" he asked worriedly, "N-no." Sonic softly squeaked, grimacing at how high his voice sounded. Not convinced, Eggman asked again, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, " Sonic cleared his throat, voice and tone returning to normal, "just caught me by surprise, is all." Nodding, Eggman resumed washing, taking care to be gentle and to give the hedgehog some warning before cleaning any other potentially sensitive areas.

After his legs were scrubbed down, Eggman rinsed the bubbles out and moved on to the fragrant conditioner. As the doctor gently combed the substance through his fur Sonic remembered that he was still wearing the collar. _Guess it must be waterproof cause I'd be a roasted hedgehog by now if it wasn't._ Moving on from that gruesome image, his mind wandered to how the doctor had treated him today.

Eggman had been quite kind, a stark contrast to how his interactions with the human usually went. And Sonic was starting to think the doctor's attempts to make amends with him and accept the responsibility for his actions were sincere. Going far in his quest to house and care for the supersonic hedgehog, carefully considering all of Sonic's needs and had prepared himself for the responsibility. Giving up his lifelong goal to make up for all the mistakes he had made against the blue blur. It was...astounding really to make such a life-altering decision just for one person.

Sonic's eyes widened slightly, and he felt his heart pound at the thought that the reason Eggman wanted to change was for...was for him! He shook his head. _What am I thinking?! This is Egghead we're talking about! This is just another one of his schemes for me to be under his control._ Sudden darkness pulls Sonic out of his thoughts. _What the?_

"There we go, all clean!" says a muffled voice; he scrunches his face as a towel is rubbed all around his head before it's pulled back, revealing the voice to be coming from Eggman smiling down at him. The human dries him off and leaves the towel wrapped around him like a little kid; Sonic snorts at the round man yanking the towel off, throwing it onto the floor, and crosses his arms blushing. Quickly he puts on his gloves and shoes at the same time Eggman puts his jacket back on.

Redressed, Eggman shows the clean hedgehog to his room conveniently two doors down from his own. Stepping in, Sonic sweatdropped, finding the bedroom eerily similar to his own at Tails' workshop. A passing thought of one of Eggman's drones spying on him made the skin under his fur shiver.

"I do hope you'll find yourself comfortable here. I had the room designed based on what little I knew about your tastes from our past experiences. Still, it wasn't easy since our interactions haven't been exactly-ahem-peaceful. I hope we can take this opportunity to push past our differences and get to know each other better!" Sonic scoffed at the doctor's cheery suggestion to be on friendly terms with each other; keeping his back turned, he crossed his arms, droning. "Yeah, sure. Whatever Egghead."

Hearing the harsh tone, the doctor's mustache drooped, his efforts to reach out promptly pushed away, but quickly he regained his composure. _It's still early in the process. He's not going to open up and feel comfortable, let alone forgive me until I gain his trust. He'll come around eventually as time goes on._ Eggman assures himself. "Well, good night Sonic. If you need anything, just push the button here by the door, and one of the service bots will assist you."

Nodding stiffly, Sonic bid the doctor good night and closed the door. With one ear pressed against the metal door, Sonic waited until Eggman's footsteps faded away before sliding down to the floor, breathing out, and put his head in his hands. "What am I gonna do? I can't leave. I can't call for Tails to come to get me. I'm screwed until this whole thing is over!" he moans.

Jerking up, he sharply slaps himself in the face. "Get a hold of yourself, Sonic! That poor pitiful me attitude isn't going to get you anywhere! You can do this. There's nothing Eggman can throw at you that you can't handle." A chill ran down his spine. "Ugh, even Eggman giving you a bath eugh!" Blushing and chuckling nervously, he shook away his embarrassment. So what am I gonna do now? He pondered, standing up, tapping his foot, scanning over the room.

Emerald eyes land on the desk, and slowly, a smile that would have rivaled the grinch's worked its way onto Sonic's muzzle along with a soft cackling. A mischievous plan forming in his mind, craking his fingers and rubbing his nose. Sonic walked up to the desk, sitting down, and started writing down some ideas. He was going to have a long and busy night.

* * *

Sonic chuckled to himself as he was putting the finishing touches on his drawing. Stepping back, he proudly looked over his latest piece of work, a crude mural of Eggman and Sonic decorated the grey wall.

The drawing described Sonic having beaten the doctor yet again in an imaginary epic battle, standing heroically over a wailing Eggman having a temper tantrum at being defeated yet again. Next to the picture were the words, "Sonik rulz Eggman drulz!" The blue hedgehog giggled at the drawing, imagining the look on Eggman's face when he would eventually find the mess he had made yet again.

Today officially marked the end of the first week of his stay at Eggman's base. Instead of checking out all the activities and entertainment rooms, Eggman had set up for Sonic during his stay. The hedgehog had spent much of his time and energy driving the human up the wall as much as he could. Besides running, eating chili dogs, and trashing Eggman's machines, elaborate pranks were his specialty.

He had spent his first night plotting and brainstorming ideas for pranks, schemes, and any other sort of mischief he could think of to irritate and annoy the doctor in the hopes that the human would grow so frustrated he would give up housing the blue devil and send him on his way.

He had egged and teepeed the doctor's room and office, clogged the human's private bathroom with knick-knacks around the base, set the kitchen on fire, replaced a delicious chocolate cake with one made of sponges, covered the floors with so much wax the service bots couldn't move 2 inches without sliding to the other side of the base. Filled the eggmobile's tank with soda, had tricked Metal into watching a cardboard cut out of himself for 10 hrs, glued Orbot and Cubot together (they were joined at the hip anyway), and had downloaded a virus onto the doctor's systems setting the base on lockdown down for 8 hrs.

That was only scratching the surface of all the problems he caused in a single day. And each act of misbehavior and defiance resulted in him getting a nasty shock from the collar Eggman had graciously gifted him.

Sonic's quills and fur were stuck in a perpetual state of disarray from the frequent shocks throughout the week. His quills looked much like a punk mohawk hairstyle often worn by rebellious teen humans. The blue devil was getting shocked so much it had gotten to the point that the doctor had to resort to other methods of punishment. Worried that the hedgehog was at risk of brain or nerve damage if he continued to light Sonic up like a Christmas tree.

So as the days went on, Sonic found himself getting shocked less and instead ending up getting lectures, cleaning the bathroom, kitchen, or did laundry, wrote apology letters, and didn't get any deserts. The latest method of punishment was a time-out. But it was all for not; Sonic's determination to have Eggman see him as nothing more than a pest that needed to be kicked out as soon as possible undeterred.

A voice booming from above startled the blue blur making him drop the permanent marker he had been using. "Sonic the Hedgehog! What on Earth are you doing this time!?"

 _Uh oh, I'm in trouble._ Sonic cringed as Eggman marched up to the scene of the crime and roughly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, making him go limp and curl up like a kitten. "Just what do you think you're doing?" Brushing away his embarrassment at the demeaning posture Eggman had put him in, Sonic grinned innocently and squeaked, "Oh, nothing! Just drawing."

"On my wall, " Eggman added with a tight voice. "With permanent marker." he pointed to the implementation of destruction. "Yeah, looks a whole lot better, don't 'cha think?" Sonic continued to grin, watching Eggman's face wrinkle up and grow red. He imagined smoke escaping from the human's small ears.

The hedgehog lays his ears back, bracing himself for a shock to run through his neck or screaming, or even perhaps for Eggman to blowup and finally kick him out. Instead, he hears Eggman just breathing in a steady rhythm, trying to calm down. The redness in the doctor's cheeks slowly fades as he looks over the blue hedgehog dangling in front of him, debating on what he should do to punish this latest act of rebellion.

Before the human can contemplate a suitable punishment, a round red orb nearing in his peripheral catches Eggman's attention. The doctor and Sonic both turn their heads, surprised to see Orbot approaching with clasped hands, along with Cubot cautiously stopping just a few feet behind. The yellow robot glares at Sonic, still sore about being glued together with his friend the other day. The hedgehog looks everywhere but at Cubot. "Sorry to interrupt, but you just received a message from G.U.N. Agent Shadow, and his partner Agent Rouge will be here momentarily."

An exasperated sigh leaves the doctor's lips at the news. Great just what he needed, G.U.N. had the worst timing. Though he was somewhat grateful for the interruption, Eggman hated having to punish Sonic so frequently and was running out of ideas as none of them seemed to be having any effect.

Gently, he sets Sonic back on his feet and rubs his bald head, "I don't have time for this right now. Sonic, go get ready for the interviews. Orbot, make sure everything is in order, and Cubot, see if you can find a way to get this mess out; I have to go prepare as well."

"Very well, sir." the round robot bows before setting off with his partner, who gives Sonic the 'I'm watching you gesture.' the blue devil doesn't pay him any attention, instead examining his ink-stained gloves. "Don't think you're getting out of this hedgehog, " Eggman glares down at Sonic, who looks back up at the human, "I'll figure out your punishment later. Go get a fresh pair and meet me back here in 5 minutes. Do you think you can behave long enough to do that?" the human questions, "Don't expect too much." Sonic snorts disappointed his plan had not worked yet again, before dashing off.

The doctor tiredly takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes, "What am I going to do with you, Sonic?" he whispers.

* * *

10 minutes later, Shadow and Rouge enter the base along with an unexpected and unwelcome by all third addition to their party. "Welcome!" Eggman greeted with a wide fake smile, "I do hope you had a pleasant journey. Would anyone care for some refreshments?"

"I could go for a good cup of coffee if you don't mind." Rouge purred, "Nothing for me, thank you." a green platypus wearing red glasses, a bowler hat, and suit declined, leering over the entrance with a look of half-hidden disgust. Shadow grunted negatively, the hog obviously not wishing to be here.

"Not, to be rude or anything..." Sonic says, leaning back in a cool position with folded arms and one leg kicked against the wall behind him. He points to the platypus, "but I thought only Shads and Rouge were going to be the ones visiting us?"

"They will be after today. Since G.U.N. is currently viewing this situation as something similar to an adoption process under their jurisdiction, they have hired my services to inspect the premises to ensure it is safe for the child being considered for adoption...I am assuming you are the child in question?" The platypus snootily informed the blue hedgehog. Sonic muttered under his breath, "Not a kid, " clearing his throat; he spoke louder, "So you're here to make sure this place is safe? Isn't that kind of stuff supposed to be done before I move in? Running kinda late, aren't ya?"

The platypus adjusted his glasses, "Yes, well, the circumstances of this situation are unusual." he gave Sonic an odd look while emphasizing that last word, "So the protocols have been adjusted to fit the circumstances."

"Unusual? Honey, there ain't nothing about big blue here that can be remotely called normal." the albino bat playfully elbows the platypus, making him blush. Sonic snickers. There wasn't a male on earth that Rouge couldn't make their face turn red as a tomato and stumble like a milk-drunk newborn calf, except for Shadow the Ultimate in keeping his emotions and expressions in check.

"Can we get this over with already?" said dark hog groans, "Of course! Shadow, Sonic. Why don't you two go ahead and get started? You can take the dining room or where ever is most comfortable-"

"Dining room is fine." Shadow cuts the doctor off, "Lead faker." pushing himself off with a smirk; Sonic leads his rival to the room requested for their interview.

"Now, is there anything I can do for, you Mr. Uh?" Eggman gestures to the duckbilled creature, "Platypus. Mr. D.B. Platypus. And yes, I will need someone to give me a tour of your...home." the aquatic creature clicks, "Right. Orbot!" Eggman calls. The red orb quickly appears by his master's side, "Yes, doctor?"

"Please give Mr. Platypus a tour of the base and answer any questions he might have. Rouge and I will be in my study if you need anything. Sonic is in the dining room with Shadow; I suggest that you not disturb them."

"Indeed." the robot languidly agrees. With that, Orbot guides the inspector through the base leaving Eggman and Rouge alone; the white bat approaches the doctor watching the robot, and Mr. Platypus leave. "Ugh, can I say how much I hate that that guy and I have similar tastes? He's such a pompous prim prissy. And has a nasty attitude to boot. How Shadow was able to hold himself back from punching his face on the ride over here, I'll never know." flexing her wings, she turns her attention to the doctor with a flirtatious smirk, "Well, looks like it's just the two of us now, doc. How 'bout that cup of coffee I was promised?"


	5. What to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I just wanted to give you a heads up that new postings may be a bit slower after this chapter. Things have finally calmed down at the hospital for me, but now my mom and I are starting a complete makeover of the kitchen (like walls are coming down), so some of my free time will now be taken to help work on that. Hopefully, it shouldn't take too long 2-3 months, and won't take too much of my time, but I just wanted to give ya'll a heads up that you may not see me update as frequently.

Shadow impatiently taps the end of his pen on the notepad in front of him, a fidget of his similar to Sonic's leg bouncing when he was restless. If Shadow knew he shared this, along with several other quirks with the blue hero, he didn't let it bother him. Head in his hand with a bored expression, he watches the blue blur from across the table. Wondering why the hell was Sonic, the ever-annoying perky cocky hedgehog was glaring at him as if he'd kicked a lost puppy.

"Well, go on say it." Sonic eventually barked; Shadow slowly rose one eye ridge at his rival in confusion, "Say what?"

"Tell me how much of an idiot I was for accepting Eggman's offer, how I walked right into his trap again and offered myself on a silver platter. Go on! Tell me! Tell me how I'm wasting your time dragging you from your regularly scheduled brooding to come here and hear about how Eggman and I aren't getting along."

"Sonic, I'm not going to rub it in your face when there's nothing to rub it into." the blue blur blinked at him in bewilderment, "You-your not?"

"No. Why would you think I would do that?"

"I...I don't know." Sonic shrugged awkwardly, "I guess I just thought you would think this whole thing is stupid. Hell, I'm beginning to think it was stupid of me to take up Eggman on this whole stupid plan of his!" he sulked over the table, head nesting in the crook of his arms, his speech muffled, "I've tried just about everything I can think of, Shadow. Nothing is working."

"What's not working? What do you mean?"

"He won't let me go, Shadow!" Sonic frustratingly cries, lifting his head, "I've done everything I can to try and get Eggman to let me go. Redecorating his office, having 120 pizzas delivered by 8 different pizza places, mowed his priceless collection of azaleas, locked Scratch and Grounder into the freezer for 2 days, rewired the sound system only to play mary had a little lamb every 10 minutes and flooded parts of the warehouse. Nothing is working!" he screams, pulling his quills.

Shadow watches his rival with wide eyes, unable to make a lick of sense out of Sonic's rambling. What did pizza have to do with the doctor letting him go? Sonic could be quite the chatterbox at times, but he always made sense. For all Shadow could make out, it sounded like Sonic had found Eggman's private stash of catnip and had decided to have a bite before starting this interview.

"Why-why did you do all of that?"

"Cause I want him to kick me out?! Duh!" Sonic yells like it was obvious, which it wasn't. At least not to Shadow, "Why?!" the dark hog slowly asks again, "Because it's Eggman! We're not supposed to be 'buddies.' We're supposed to be enemies. I-I know I've always said how I wanted him to reform, but this...I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this?!"

(There was that little bit of essential bit of information that he needed.) Now Shadow somewhat understood what his rival was trying to communicate. "Sonic, you signed yourself up to help give the man a second chance. It's only been a week, and you're already giving up on him like a day-old piece of salami. What happened to the hedgehog who believed in second chances-" he briefly points to himself as an example, "and would do anything to make sure the world was safe even if it meant the ultimate sacrifice?" Shadow crosses his arms, shaking his head in disappointment.

Sonic's ears lower in response, grumbling, "Yeah, well...giving your life up for something you believe in is a lot easier if you don't have to live through it." Shadow couldn't help a snort from escaping recalling the events of his own sacrifice, "Aint that the truth." he whispers. "But that isn't the point, " He shakes his head sharply, eying Sonic, focusing back on the blue blur's problem, "the point is you made this decision. For better or worse, stupid or not. And it sounds like your the one making it hard on yourself. Has Eggman been threatening you? Torturing you? Running experiments, starving, or beating you senseless?"

"No." Sonic quietly replied, rubbing his arm while looking away, "Then get your act together and stop complaining! Either hog up and take this opportunity to better Eggman for the world's sake or give up like the pathetic faker you are!" Shadow growled.

Sonic said nothing for some minutes, taking in Shadow's words. His rival was right. He needed to man up. He had accepted this contract to protect his friends and the world so that they wouldn't have to suffer any more of Eggman's tyranny. And by golly, he was nothing if not a hedgehog of his word. Chuckling, Sonic lifted his head with a smirk, "Ya know you're pretty good at this pep talk thing, Shads."

"Tsk. Don't flatter me, hedgehog." Shadow scoffs but smirks back as well. Clicking the pen, the ebony hog leans over the table, "Who are Scratch and Grounder?" he inquires. Sonic relaxes at the change of subject, "Oh, some old robots Egghead used to use to try and catch me back in the day. He put them out of commission years ago. I always thought he just scrapped them, but it turns out they were still up and operating here." he smiles warmly with a faraway look in his eyes, "It's good to see them again."

Shadow rolled his eyes and hmphed, "Didn't know the doctor was so sentimental. So tell me, is driving Eggman crazy all you've been up to this week? Or anything else? And what has the doctor been doing? I need to report something to G.U.N. other than whatever Rouge and that duck-billed pompously dressed beaver cooks up for them."

Sonic laughs at that remark, "He's so snotty! Did you see the way he looked at me earlier? Thought I was the scum of the earth. Haha!" a sly grin creeps onto the black hog's muzzle, "You sure he was looking at you and not the doctor? I thought he was smelling Eggman's new cologne 'A la œuf Pourri?" (Rotten Egg in French) Sonic bursts out laughing, tears streaming from his eyes. He had needed a good laugh after the rough week he'd had; after a minute, he calms down and wipes the tears away, softly smiling at his friendly rival.

Shadow didn't often show his softer, fun side, but Sonic always felt proud of the ebony hog for coming out of his shell when he did. He cherished those rare moments. "Don't ever change, Shads." Sonic shook a finger at him before settling it on his chin, "Now, where do I start? ..." Shadow twirls the pen in his fingers, head bobbing to the object around the blue blur's neck, "Maybe explain the collar. Isn't that thing only used for juvenile delinquents?" Sonic's happy demeanor disappears to a scowl, "Don't remind me." he whines.

* * *

*Meanwhile with Rouge and Eggman*

The white bat sighs in ecstasy after taking a long sip of her drink, "Mmmmh...perfect. So much better than the stuff I usually get back at the office."

"Isn't G.U.N. required to provide for its employees the necessary supplies they need to function in an orderly manner? Like paper, sticky notes, and coffee?" Eggman asks, taking a sip of his own chamomile tea with a few heaping spoonfuls of honey. "Yeah, but the coffee at G.U.N. is cheap and tastes like shit. Good enough to keep you going, that's it. This here, " she lifts the mug with a perverted smile, "is high-quality stuff. My compliments to the barista."

"Thank you."

"Now-" she takes a long drag emptying the mug and setting it down with a clink against the wooden desk, "tell me, doctor. How have things been going with you and big blue? Not well, I take it judging from the wrinkles and dark circles under those eyes that weren't there the last time we spoke?" The egg-shaped human let out a tired sigh while stirring his tea, "No...not at all, I'm afraid." Rouge hummed, weaving her gloved fingers together, perking her large ears, listening attentively. Juicy gossip seemed to be on the menu, and she was hungry.

"I don't know what's wrong with him!" Eggman exclaimed, "He's been nothing but rebellious ever since he stepped through that door! Breaking everything I own, pulling off elaborate pranks, mouthing off, he even flooded my warehouse! It took 3 days to get everything back in order, 3 days! He has no access to that area, and I have no idea how he did it! I swear he's caused more destruction to my base in the last week than he ever has over all of my other bases in the last 7 years."

"Big blue? Causing a ruckus? Tsk, tsk, tsk." Rouge shook her head, leaning back, "Come oooon, doc~, he hasn't been that bad of a boy, has he?"

"Oh yes, he has—a very bad boy. No matter how much I discipline him, and no matter the form, he just keeps getting worse. I'm nearing the end of my rope, trying to figure out what's wrong and how to fix it."

"Well, have you thought about oh I don't know? Talking to him?"

"I've tried!" Eggman cries, rubbing his temples, "but he refuses to open up or even try to meet me halfway. I don't know how to get him to trust me, let alone talk. I'm really trying to show I've changed Rouge I really am, but Sonic...he hardly even looks at me unless I'm yelling at him for breaking something."

The bat licked her plump lips, twitching her ear thoughtfully as she scanned Eggman, "Look, doc, " she says steadily, breaking the silence after a few minutes, "it's only been what, a week since you've started all this? It's gonna take some time. Your history with blue isn't just going to float away because you wanna kiss and makeup; you're smart, man. You know this."

"I do..." Eggman sighs, then lazily chuckles. "I guess I'm just as impatient as our little blue blur, huh?" Rouge smiles at him softly; seeing this almost parental side of Eggman was not a new sight for her. Having worked with the doctor a few times in the past, she had seen many sides of the human's personality. Usually, this softer parental and, at times, motherly side was kept for his creations, notably his favorites such as Metal Sonic. It seemed since learning his enemy was an orphan and having decided to take him in, this side of Eggman was making more of an appearance. If his claims of changing for the better were valid, she hoped they'd see this side a whole lot more.

She returned his chuckle with a throaty one of her own, "That's just one of the ways you two are alike." a red mustache twitched behind a small smile, "Your right." he rubbed a hand under his chin, thinking, "Perhaps...I've been going about this the wrong way?" Eggman starts slowly. "Perhaps I need to do more research? Find common ground for us? Or a more effective way to communicate?" Rouge nods; the doctor seemed to be in better spirits now, having vented a bit; she plucks a nail file from a hidden breast pocket. "That sounds like a good place to start. So tell me, what has been going on with you and big blue this past week?"

* * *

*Some hours later*

"I'm pleased to inform you that everything seems to be in order." the platypus announces while looking over his clipboard, "There is a proper bedroom, a good variety of foods offered, and enrichment materials. All rooms holding any dangerous equipment are secure. This is a fine place to raise a child, possibly one of the best I've ever surveyed."

"Ah, well...thank you, Mr. Platypus!" Eggman beamed, relieved that the examiner found his base as the perfect place to keep Sonic. The duck-billed creature smiled a teeny bit, "Your welcome."

"If you two are done, we should head back to headquarters." Shadow urges, his partner rolls her eyes and smirks, "Alright sugar, don't get your panties in a knot." a snicker from the blue hedgehog makes Shadow grumble, folding his arms with a hmph!

"See you, boys, next week!" Rouge waves, hips swaying back and forth as she makes her exit with the other two males, "See ya, Rouge! Bye, Shads!" Sonic smirks. The giant entrance doors close with a hiss in front of the human and hedgehog. The two stand there awkwardly for some moments before Eggman coughs into his fist to gain the blue devil's attention. Though Sonic didn't seem to take notice, his ears tilt to the human's direction, indicating he was listening, "I have some work to do and won't be available until sometime tomorrow afternoon, so you will be on your own while I'm tied up." the human spoke dryly, turning around, the doctor heads for his labs.

"Hey, wait a sec!" Sonic hastily calls, zipping up to Eggman, holding a hand out in a halting gesture and a questioning look, "Isn't tomorrow the day I have off? How am I supposed to get out without this thing knocking me unconscious?" he points to the collar around his neck.

"I set the collar not to release the toxin for tomorrow, so you are free to go from 8 am to 5 pm. Just be sure to return before dinner; if you need anything, ask the service bots, Metal, or one of the others. If that is all, I have some very important matters to attend to. I'll see you tomorrow." the doctor curtly answers before departing, leaving a confused Sonic where he stands in the hallway.

The blue hedgehog tilted his head, brows creased, wondering what had caused the doctor's change in demeanor, leaving Sonic to his own devices instead of trying to spend time with him every second of the day like he had done during the last week.

He pushed his wonderment aside, deciding to be relieved of the change and from escaping whatever penalty Eggman would have given him for his misbehavior earlier. The doctor was always strange.

Sonic gazed up to a nearby clock. "I have a little over 24 hrs of Eggman free time. Better enjoy it while it lasts. Wonder if he's got anything to snack on in the kitchen?" Blasting away, Sonic went to see if he could find anything to satisfy his sweet tooth.

* * *

The next morning Sonic awoke bright and early in a cheerful mood, more than ready to leave the base. Tossing the blanket aside, he jumps off the bed, combs his fingers through his quills, smoothing out any strays, and quickly put on his shoes and gloves. He wished he had more time to spend outside with his friends. _But I guess I should just be grateful he's letting me out at all._ Sonic laments as he makes his way to the lounge to hang out there while he waits.

It was at least 30 minutes before 8 am, and he had plenty of time to spare, but he wasn't interested in doing anything to pass the time. Sonic wanted to leave this place the moment the clock hit the magic hour, so he bounced onto the teal couch, eyes locking on to the clock, watching and waiting before he could take his leave. His leg jumped anxiously to the tick of the clock echoing in his head with each second.

Tick...

Tick...

Tick...

Tick...

8 am!

Sonic leaped from his seat, turning into a blue streak as he went to the closest exit, the ground burning up behind him. Two seconds after exciting the entrance doors, he could see a portion of the perimeter fence opening for him up ahead. He prayed that the collar wouldn't release the paralyzing toxin Eggman had mentioned as soon as he stepped out.

His jaw clenched as he drew closer, heart racing in his furry chest as Sonic left the base behind in a gust of wind.

Several miles later, Sonic put on the breaks, heels digging in surrounding him in a cloud of dirt. He had stopped in the midst of the forest. Turning around, he looks back to see the fence far behind him faintly. The hedgehog tentatively feels his arms and legs, stretching and flexing his muscles, "I can still move..." he pinches his arms, "Ow! I can still feel...Hahahahaha! Yes!" Sonic laughs, pumping his arms and jumping for joy. Eggman wasn't pulling a cruel trick on him. He was totally free!

Free at last!

He gulped in the sweet, sweet pine fresh air, reveling in all of mother nature's glory. He had missed being in her presence. Spreading his arms wide, Sonic spun on his toes, head tilted to the sky, taking it all in, "Oh yeah!" he sighed, placing his hands on his hips, "This is much better! No Eggheads, no robots, or metal walls." green eyes fell to the ground. "Well, at least for a few hours," He mumbled; a grumbling from his stomach reminded the hedgehog that in his excitement to leave, he had forgotten to eat breakfast.

An image of a delicious piping hot chili dog popped into his mind, and Sonic drooled, rubbing his hands, knowing the perfect place to get his favorite dish. His worries blew away as he kicked a leg up; Sonic dashed to the rising sun to a land where it was already lunchtime. He checked his quills, making sure he had brought some money to pay for a chili dog breakfast.

Two chili dogs with a large soda and several thousand miles through several continents later, Sonic turns into Mystic Ruins' direction, where his best friend and adoptive brother's workshop resided—excited to see what the young fox had been up to while he had been away and thinking of maybe taking the old Tornado for a spin. "We could drop by Angle Island and see how Knucklehead is doing. It's always fun to mess with him, and I could use a one-on-one session after the week I've had."

Slowing down from his top speed to a jog, beaming a toothy grin, Sonic hops up the steps of the workshop, ringing the doorbell. "Just a minute!" a voice faintly calls from the inside. Sonic shakes his head smile, transitioning to a smirk. A minute was far too long, and he was too excited and impatient. Digging the house key out of his quills, he let himself in and went upstairs to find his best buddy.

Hearing the door open and close, Tails rolls his eyes in annoyance, wondering which of his and Sonic's many friends had decided to barge in like they own the place. Quickly he trots to the front door to see no one there, scratching his head; the fox looks around to find no one nearby. Suddenly the sound of a creak from the stairs alerts Tails that someone was upstairs, turning his face lit up, seeing a familiar blue spiky hedgehog looking around before spotting him below and descends beaming back at him.

"Tails!"

"Sonic!"

Both brothers glomp onto each other as if they had been separated for years, and from their perspective, it might as well have been.

"Oh, Tails, little buddy, I missed you so much!"

"I missed you to Sonic!"

Stepping back yet still holding on to each other, the two examined the other. Sonic speaking first, starting fast, then calming down to a more reasonable speed, "Tails,areyoudoingalright? Haveyoubeeneatingenough? You-haven'tstayed-uplate-inthe-workshop-haveyou? How'd-thegang-take-thenews? Amy-hasn't-done-anything-crazy-lately? How's-Knux? And do you have any rings on you cause I used the last of mine on some chili dogs from Chuck's?"

Tails couldn't help but laugh with delight hearing his brother's motormouth; it had been way too quiet for the fox's tastes. Having listened to Sonic's fast pace of speech for so many years, he expertly deduces Sonic's garbled questions and answers them in order, "I've been good! Amy, Cream, and Knuckles have been checking up on me and making sure I eat and go to bed so no late nights. But it's been too quiet without you around. Everyone was shocked at first, and they've been worried about you, and so have I. Haha! No, Amy's been really nice, and Knuckles...well, why don't you ask him yourself! He's coming over later."

"Really? That's great!" Sonic exclaims before releasing his hold and stepping back shyly, rubbing under his nose, speaking lowly, "And uh...sorry about all that. I didn't mean to worry anyone."

"It's ok, Sonic. I can't say I completely understand why you went with Eggman or that I would've done the same, but it's ok." Sonic light-heartedly chuckles ruffling the fox's bangs, "Thanks, bro. I appreciate it. Hey, now you know how I feel when you start spouting all that mechanical mumbo jumbo on me!"

"Come on!" Tails playfully whines, "You understand at least some of it, don't you? I do simplify it so you can understand what I'm saying!"

"That's true...and I do understand most of it, at least until you start explaining what each part of whatever thingamabob you're making does." Tails looks at Sonic with a semi-serious glare, "Hey, some of that mumbo jumbo has saved our lives a few times."

"Alright, alright, " Sonic holds his hands up in surrender, "you've made your point now. Speaking of mumbo jumbo, what's the latest and greatest gadget my brilliant little bro has come up with this time?"

"Now your just trying to butter me up for a few rings." Tails shakes his head with a raised brow; Sonic grins innocently, his shoulders hike up, "Whatever are you talking about? I just want to see what my little brother and best friend in the whole world has made!" Tails pushes the hedgehog away with a laugh. Sonic pushes back, and the two engage in some friendly roughhousing before they finally enter the fox's private abode.


	6. Back to the Old Grind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * [] indicate document text*

"You've really gone an' messed up yourself big time hedgehog."

"Yeah, I know. I heard you the first few hundred times, Knux." Sonic groans behind a mouth full of chili, "And just who was it that got himself caught up in another one of Eggman's schemes? A certain blue hedgehog? Who says I'm the gullible one now?"

"I said I heard you, Knux, so knock it off, ok! If Shadow's not picking on me for deciding to do this, then neither can you, and I knew this was an Eggman scheme from the beginning. So that doesn't give you the right to tease me for being gullible.'"

"Says his pet."

"Excuse me?" Sonic glares at the guardian while his cheeks flush bright pink, "You heard me, Sonic, or did Eggman give you a new nickname? Fluffy? Mr. Needlemouse? Sparky? What does it say on that collar or your's pet?" Sonic jumps out of the chair, his quills rising, "Ok, that's it! You wanna go fists for brains?!"

"Sonic, no, don't! Knuckles, stop teasing him, and the both of you shut up already! Geeze can't get one moment of peace with you guys. If you're not fighting with your fists, your fighting with your words." Tails complains, "You're right, bro. Sorry." Sonic says, not being entirely sincere, leaning back into his chair at the small dining table. Knuckles says nothing crossing his arms over the white mark on his chest with a scowl.

Knuckles had arrived in the early afternoon just as Sonic and Tails started to make lunch, during which upon first spotting the blue blur, Knuckles had yanked the hedgehog away from the stove and dragged him outside where the two could engage in one of their regular brawls.

Surprised and thrilled at first, Sonic started the fight with gusto, but his enthusiasm sharply declined when things escalated into something more heated. Knuckles had more spitfire in his taunts and punches than in the past as the echidna had stored up quite a lot of rage since Sonic's ditching them for the evil scientist. Knuckles had been furious at the hero of Mobius for leaving his team without their leader to flounder for themselves and to quote, "join the good doctor for an extended tea party." Sonic had been lucky only to finish the fight with a few bruises and cuts.

Letting out a large burp Sonic pats his stomach, happy to have his chili dog cravings satisfied. "Eww, gross!" Tails laughs with gross appreciation that only a child can express with embarrassing body noises. Knuckles grunts in disgust, rolling his eyes, "Well, I assume you have a plan to break out?" the echidna asks. "Sure do! And I'm working on it." Sonic rubs his nose, "Been messing with Beeboy all week, and I think I'm finally getting under his skin. He looked close to blowing up yesterday; if all continues to go as planned, I should be out of there before the end of next week!"

"Beeboy?" Knuckles slowly asks with a raised brow; Sonic lazily waves a hand, "Oh, just another nickname for Egghead."

"Where did you come up with that one?"

The blue devil chuckles, "Turns out Eggman's a tea man, and he likes it with honey. Not just a spoonful, no, he practically empties the hive for one cup! One thing led to another, and out popped Beeboy." Knuckles snorts, "Not one of the best nicknames you've come up with."

"Hey! It's not easy coming up with some of this stuff; not all of them can be winners! I'd like to see you try to come up with something better." Sonic points at his red friend who's face twists and turns in thought trying to come up with a clever nickname, but he can't think of anything. "Yeah, that's what I thought, knucklehead."

"Um, Sonic, as much as I would like for you to come home, is getting under Eggman's nerves such a good idea? What if you end up breaking the contract? Then we'll be stuck at square one again!" the little yellow fox asks, interrupting the two's quarreling. "Look, Tails; my plan is foolproof! And the point is not for me to break the contract but for Eggman to give up on it. If I can get him to kick me out of his own will, technically, he and I would still be bound to the contract. Nothing was ever mentioned about him cutting me to the curb. If Egghead really keeps his promises, then we have nothing to worry about!"

Tails scratches his head, unsure of the whole idea, "I don't know, Sonic. It sounds kinda sketchy to me. And things could go wrong easily. What'll happen to you if it doesn't work like you planned?"

"Don't worry your big old brain about it, bro. Just leave it to me!" Sonic says, standing up and ruffles the fox's bangs before letting out a yawn, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go catch some rays. Staying inside that old grey base has really been a bummer, and I need to make sure this handsome tanned bod stays as beautiful as ever." shooting a few finger guns Sonic zips outside to sunbathe on his usual spot. The roof.

"Do you really think his plan is gonna work?" Knuckles lowly asks after the hedgehog leaves; Tails sighs with a worried frown, looking at where his brother stood moments ago, not at all reassured by his plan. "I don't know, Knuckles. I mean, Sonic's always been good at coming up with ideas on the spot when we're in a pinch but this plan..."

"Seems as cuckoo as the cuckoo bird's nest?"

"Maybe not that crazy, but yeah...not one of his best. But then again, some of his craziest plans have worked in the past. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

"Still haven't found any loopholes on your end?"

"Nothing." Tails' ears sadly droop as he turns back to the echidna, "That contract is iron locked, not a single usable loophole. I talked with G.U.N.'s best lawyers, and even they haven't figured a way out of it. If I can't come up with any ideas and if Sonic's plan doesn't work, we're stuck like this until the 6 months are up." Knuckles lays a gloved hand on the fox's shoulder in comfort, "Hey, you'll think of something eventually. We know you can! And if worse comes to worst, well, it's only for a short time."

"Thanks, Knux." Tails gives his friend a small smile in thanks. The echidna smiles back and nods. Pulling away, Tails perks up and stands, "I'm gonna go work on a few upgrades for the Tornado while Sonic's napping. You're welcome to stick around if you like."

"No thanks. I need to get back to The Master Emerald before that thieving bat gets any ideas to come visit me." Tails chuckles at the thought of Rouge visiting the guardian to only try and 'steal the master emerald.' "Ok then, see ya around, Knux!" Knuckles nods again, waving goodbye, and walks out. Stepping away from the house, violet eyes glance behind and up, spotting a bit of blue poking up over the roof. The echidna fondly shakes his head; despite their differences and not-so-great introduction, Knuckles held Sonic in high respects.

The hedgehog was brave, kind-hearted, and never ran from a fight with evil even when all the odds were stacked against him. As mad as he was for Sonic leaving them and though he would never say it, Knuckles thought it was very brave of Sonic to sacrifice himself to spare the world from Eggman. After Tails had explained to everyone what had transpired during their capture, all had agreed to do everything in their power to help the speedy hedgehog out of this predicament.

A warrior with such honor and courage was worthy of much praise and respect. As well as assistance when in a tight bond as of now.

"We'll get you out of this mess, hedgehog. You can be sure of it." Knuckles says lowly. With that, the echidna leaves, hoping that Sonic's plan works for all their sakes.

* * *

Laying on the roof on his side with his arm close to his chest, Sonic breaths softly as he sleeps under the warm afternoon sun. Fluffy clouds dot the bright blue sky, birds chirping in the distance while riding the light wind currents brushing the tall grass in Mystic Ruins. Tails' workshop doors stand wide open to allow the cool air to move through, giving the fox some relief from the heat of the non-air-conditioned building as he works tirelessly on his latest project for his and Sonic's beloved plane.

The peaceful scene is abruptly broken by a faint high pitched screech echoing in the distance, "Sooooooooniiiiiiic!" said hedgehog's ear twitches in response, but he doesn't wake. "Sooooooooooniiiiiic!" the pink dot in the distance wails again as it rushes closer to the workshop; Sonic's ear twitches again to the call of his name. Groaning, he begins to stir and slowly peels open one eye, searching for whoever was calling for him.

"Sooooooniiiiiiic!" the voice calls again, much closer now, emerald eyes widen in horror when Sonic recognizes the familiar banshee call. Oh shit, it's Amy! Jumping to his feet in a panic, Sonic swings his arms wildly, losing his balance, and tumbles to the ground, landing on his face. "Sooooooniiiic!" Amy calls again as she runs; a bright smile forms on her face when she finally sees her beloved picking himself up.

Sonic has the opposite reaction when he sees how close his obsessive self-proclaimed girlfriend is. It's not that he hates the girl, no. Otherwise, he wouldn't consider her as a friend, but her obsessive view of him made Sonic apprehensive about being in her company too often.

 _Danger! Danger!_ His mind screams as he franticly searches for a place to hide. _Tails! Workshop! Safe!_ Sonic enters the workshop with speed; he's known for bringing the wind with him inside, creating a tornado sending papers and blueprints scattering. "Hey!" Tails cries in irritation, having a set of blueprints he had just been holding blown out of his fingers, gloved hands firmly grab his shoulders, turning him around to face panicked eyes before him, "Amy! Must hide. Safe place. Where?!"

"Uhhhh?" Tails stutters, looking back over his workshop for a spot where his brother could hide, his eyes glance over the clock before landing back on it. "It's 10 minutes to 5 pm! Don't you have to be back at Eggman's by then?" Sonic lights up, "Of course, that's perfect! Thanks, little bro!" He gives the fox's cheek a peek and a quick nuzzle before heading for the door stopping dead in his tracks when Amy stands in his way. Sonic smiles apologetically, quickly saying, "Sorry, Amesgottago. Eggheadwantsmebackbeforedinner. Ohwell,catchyalaternextweekbye!"

Shuffling away from the disappointed girl, Sonic dashes into the sunset, silently thanking Eggman for the time limit; otherwise, he would have been stuck in Amy's arms for another hour. His relief turned sour as it clicked in his mind that he was going back to that old grey base to be stuck there for another week. Maybe I should have taken my chances with Amy. Frowning, Sonic ran back to the base.

Several hundred miles later, he could see the dull building in the distance. Slowing down, Sonic ran past the perimeter fence, and one of the tiny bulbs on his collar blinked green, unlocking the front door for him to enter. Red sneakers squeaked loudly against the smooth tile floor as he put on the breaks sliding through the hallways. Sonic stops perfectly in the middle of the doorway to the lounge room in a dab pose, wearing his usual cocky grin, "Did ja' miss me~?" he playfully asks.

Eggman looks up from his tablet seeing Sonic stand there in a pose he doesn't recognize, and glances at his watch, "Seven seconds to spare. Cutting it close, aren't you hedgehog?" he says, unimpressed, putting away the reading material. Dropping the dab, Sonic pouts. His cool entrance, entirely dismissed, "Hey, I'm back, aren't I?"

"That you are. Welcome back. I'm sure your hungry. Let's go to the dining room, shall we?" Rolling his eyes, Sonic waves his arms in a gentlemanly gesture replying sarcastically, "After you, Beeboy." Eggman huffs at the newest rude nickname. Joining the hedgehog's side, he and Sonic walk to the dining room.

* * *

[The most important thing you can do is stay calm. One of the worst things you can do while dealing with an out-of-control teen is losing control of yourself. If your rebellious teenager sees you losing your patience and yelling at him, they can begin questioning the boundaries and consequences you have set. If your teen's goal is to get a rise out of you, he will see it as a victory rather than as poor behavior. Instead, take a deep breath and walk away. Then revisit the situation with a clearer mind. Reacting in the heat of the moment could leave both of you with regrets. Remember, you are the parent. You are the adult in charge of the household. Your teen may try to exhibit adult-like tendencies, but at the end of the day, you are the one with the life experience necessary to make important decisions.]

"So, how was your day? Do anything interesting?" The doctor asks during dinner with a wide smile. "Fine." Sonic answers taking a bite out of a steamed carrot. "Did you visit Tails?" Eggman making sure his tone was cheery, asks, trying to make himself come across as friendly as possible while recalling all the research he had done the last two days in his mind. He desperately hoped that the tips and suggestions he had picked up and formulated to use as a strategy to make the hog behave and open up would work this time.

"Yup."

"Did he make anything new?"

"Like an invention?"

 _Yes! More than a one-word answer!_ Eggman celebrated internally. _Always celebrate the little victories._ His smile widened, "Yes! He's quite a bright young lad. I dare say his genius rivals my own. What's the latest gadget he's come up with this time?"

"Nothing." Sonic answers with a bored expression, not noticing Eggman's smile fall and begin to stumble over his words, "N-n-nothing?"

"Yup."

"Oh...I guess he was too upset over you leaving to make anything new." cold green eyes shoot up at the human at that statement (uh, oh wrong thing to say.) "I didn't leave him." Sonic says with ice lacing his words, "You made me abandon him to come live here with you."

"I did not make you abandon him, Sonic. You know as well as I do that that fox is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. I wouldn't have suggested this arrangement if I didn't have any confidence that he couldn't."

"Oh, so you're perfectly fine in having an 8-year-old stay home alone but not me?!"

"I'm not saying you can't take care of yourself, Sonic!" Eggman pulls himself back, noticing his tone was rising. He took a deep breath before speaking smoothly again, "I'm merely trying to provide you some stability and guidance. You have given Tails that benefit, and it has served him to the full. However, you still lack this in your own life, and I'm trying to provide that for you."

Sonic dropped his fork like a mic as his voice rose, growling, "So what? Do you think I'm stupid?! Look, just because all I've ever done is taken down more of your robots than I can count doesn't mean I can't make it out on my own without your so-called guidance. Just what kind of oh so wise counsel could an evil villain like you give me? How to not set a bomb off on yourself?" Sonic mocks.

"Watch yourself, hedgehog." the doctor says sternly, "I have many more years of life experience than you. Something that you could benefit from if you would just listen." Sonic rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Yeah, right like I would ever listen to you, Baldy McNosehair. You're just a sad old man who does nothing but makes worthless robots so I can turn them into junk for the recycling cent-"

"That's enough!" Eggman harshly interrupts the blue blur from his ridicule, his words slightly echoing in the dining room dramatically, a tense silence follows. Standing up, the doctor swiftly takes Sonic by the arm and pulls him from his seat, ignoring Sonic's protests while dragging him out of the dining room. The hedgehog struggles in his grip, "Hey, what gives?!"

[It's essential to be clear about the difference between annoying behaviors and those that are unacceptable. When your teen is angry, allow them to retreat to a place where it's safe to cool off. Set boundaries. Even if your teen rebels, deep down inside, he or she wants the comfort of boundaries. They need help telling right from wrong; although your teen wants to make decisions on his or her own, remember that an adolescent's brain is not yet fully formed, and they still need guidance. Don't worry about hurting your teen's feelings or giving him or her more reason to rebel. Sensible rules might upset your teen at the moment, but they will have a positive effect over the long term.]

"Your comments this evening have been very disrespectful. I will tolerate no more of this behavior. I tried to have a civilized conversation with you, and you immediately attacked me with insulting and rude remarks." opening the door to Sonic's room, Eggman pushes the little hedgehog inside. Sonic turns back to the large human, mouth agape, "Wait a minute, I haven't even finished dinner yet!" he complains. The large human continues to ignore his whining, thinking the comment was Sonic's attempt to divert his attention from the hedgehog's disrespectful attitude. "You are to stay in this room and think about your actions! I want a sincere apology; I don't care if it's written or oral. Just stay here and think!"

Before Sonic could utter another word, the door was slammed shut and locked. He stood there a few seconds in stunned silence, his mouth still hanging wide open before the words started to flow from his lips. "Why that dirty no good lying cheating son of a-" Shaking his fists in the air with a scream, Sonic hit the door, punching and kicking it with all his might.

_How dare that stupid, idiotic Ph.D. show-offing know it all lock me in here! I only told the truth! He wants some respect? He needs to show me some respect! I'm the freaking hero of Mobius! I'm the one who's saved the planet from every one of his evil schemes, and just cause he's older and takes me in, he thinks that gives him the right to ask-no. Demand that I, Sonic the Hedgehog, should go to him for guidance?!_

As his mental rambling and cursing went on, Sonic's violent assault moved from the door to the rest of his room. His anger continuing to escalate, and everything he could get his hands on was destroyed. Spin dashing all over the room, sending swift kicks down on anything in his path and running all over the walls and ceiling. Sonic spared nothing. The sheets were shredded like paper in a paper shredder, the furniture was broken to bits, and anything electrical was decimated. At one point, a small fire broke out from the tv, but that was quickly put out from the wind Sonic made while running on the ceiling, leaving dirty footprints all over the walls.

Slowly running out of targets, Sonic's rampage died down. Over an hour later, the blue devil finally stopped, panting heavily as he tiredly looked over the destruction. While he gazed upon the chaos realization, hit him on what he had just done, and he gasped. Regret and horror washing over his features as he continued to stare at what once had been his room. It looked like a wild animal had had a rampage, and to an extent, one had. Sonic's ears lowered in shame at his behavior, and his eyes widened slightly in fright.

Eggman was going to kill him in the morning when he saw this.

He shrugged the thought off, straightening up in his usual heroic pose, "Pffft, What do I care? I'm the Hero of Mobius's Sonic the Hedgehog! I take down Eggman's robots and free animals from his clutches!" his arms dropped. He slumped over, mumbling, "but I sure haven't acted like a hero lately. I didn't even give Eggman a chance...again."

Sonic hadn't meant to go off on the doctor earlier or to trash his room. After returning from his visit from Tails, he had planned to follow Shadow's advice and go easy to Eggman, giving him a chance to redeem himself. But the blue blur had blown up instead and ruined any possible future opportunities to make up for this mistake. Getting caught up in negative thoughts and wishes just to go home, Sonic had completely forgotten again that the reason he was doing this was to help not only the world but Eggman. Yet, he had focused on himself and his wants like the selfish brat he was.

 _Yes, selfish, that describes me perfectly! Just a selfish, stupid jerk of a hedgehog. God, I'm such a dick!_ He kicked the side of the tv, jumping back in alarm when it spat out a few sparks covering himself with his hands, waiting for another fire to break out. After a minute or so, he cautiously opened his eyes, scanning the floor for any flicker of a flame, finding none.

Sighing in relief, Sonic relaxed his stance holding himself and feeling nauseous. His eyes watered, and he sniffed, feeling sorry for himself for getting into such a predicament. The doctor was definitely going to kick him out for his outburst and breaking the rules so often.

_Well, this is what I wanted anyway, so..._

But was that what he had really wanted?

"No. No, that's not right." he shook his head, "I didn't want this. I just...I just wanted...sigh, I'm not sure what I want. Gosh, why is this so hard?! I thought Eggman turning good would be easier than this! It's so simple Sonic just work with Eggman and help him turn into a good person. The guy already took the first step; he just needs a little help getting going."

"And I love helping people. This is the golden opportunity we've dreamed about this for years! Years!"

"Yeah, but Egghead is such a pain!"

"So what he's more tolerable as a villain?"

"No! I'm just saying he's so annoying trying to be with me all the time!"

"Cause he doesn't know what the hell he's doing! You're a good guy, so he's trying to learn from the best!" At this point (if it was not already evident), the blue blur was pacing around the room, talking to himself. An old habit of his before meeting Tails that he still did when alone and faced with a difficult problem. After this last comment, he smirked to himself.

"Heh, yeah. I am a pretty good good guy, aren't I?"

"The best! And...well, they don't call you the hero of Mobius for nothing!"

"Aw, Sonic, don't you'll make me blush! Wait a sec, that were we talking about?"

"Egghead. Annoying. Trying to be a good guy. You being a screw-up."

"Ah, yeah, right." Sonic solemnly looked back at the room; his gaze fell to the alarm clock still miraculously working. Midnight it read. He deflated, "It's too late to do anything now. Egghead is gone and won't be back till tomorrow morning, er, later, I guess?"

He rubs away the remains of tear stains from his muzzle with a sigh and began gathering the shredded fabric on the floor. Moving a few broken wooden beams aside, Sonic places the scraps under the remains of the desk that had piled up against the wall forming a small fort. Making a burrow for himself, Sonic curled up inside, not bothering to go turn out the lights since the desk remains blocked out enough light for him to rest. Nestling into the cave-like structure, he fell into an anxious sleep dreading the doctor's reaction when he returns the next day.


End file.
